Notre Dame to provide leadership development to Hispanic Chamber

The Nonprofit Executive Programs (NEP) department at the University of Notre Dame now will provide executive education to the Hispanic business community through a new partnership with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Foundation. More than 200 chamber leaders will participate in the year-long program that begins with a two-day session to be held on the Notre Dame campus on August 16-17.

“Although serving the needs of business members is the mission of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the chambers are also nonprofit organizations that have unique distinctions and challenges compared to the for-profit sector,” said Marc Hardy, director of Nonprofit Executive Programs at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. “These include managing volunteers, fund development, donor relations and recruiting volunteer board members, just to name a few. These are among the important areas that Nonprofit Executive Programs will focus on to help their executives be even more successful in leading their organizations.”

“Our organization is very proud of our association with Notre Dame,” said Javier Palomarez, USHCC president and chief executive officer. “The partnership with an institution of such caliber will truly allow us to provide our chamber leaders with a valuable resource that will help them better serve their communities for years to come.”

Nonprofit Executive Programs will also be working with the Mendoza College of Business Executive Education to provide sessions on business that will help the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce executives better serve their members.

“The number of Hispanic businesses is growing rapidly, as is the complexity of markets they serve,” said Joseph O’Hannigan, senior associate director of executive programs within the Mendoza College of Business. “The training we provide will help Hispanic Chamber executives with a host of business concerns to help improve the ways they can serve their members.”

The program is structured to include a total of 16 days in the classroom during the 2010-2011 academic year, which is divided into two- and four-day sessions. Some of the sessions will be held off-campus in cities with large, active chamber groups, including Dallas, Texas. Other states and regions will be California and the West Coast, Florida, New York and the East Coast. Topics as identified by a needs-assessment survey of the Chamber leaders include media relations, fund development, ethical leadership and creating a philanthropic culture.

Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs. The Chamber represents the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that generate nearly $400 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Chamber of Commerce Foundation is responsible for developing and implementing initiatives and educational campaigns to nurture the community’s entrepreneurial spirit.

The partnership is the most recent collaboration in the long-time relationship between Notre Dame and the Hispanic community. The University established the Institute for Latino Studies in 1999, which supports interdisciplinary initiatives in Latino studies that advance research and strengthens the Latino community. In addition to initiating independent research projects, the Institute supports the research activities of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), a national consortium of university-based centers dedicated to the advancement of the Latino intellectual presence in the United States. Regular sponsorship of lectures, conferences, exhibitions and cultural gatherings links Latino studies to the Notre Dame community and the general public.

Hispanic Magazine consistently ranks Notre Dame on its list of the top 25 colleges for Latinos.

At the Mendoza College of Business, the Nonprofit Executive Program offers the Cicero Youth Task Force, an annual, two-week certification program that provides executive training to nonprofit leaders in Cicero, Ill. Nonprofit organizations in the west suburban Chicago community serve a heavily Hispanic area. The MBA program at the Mendoza College also was named the 2010 lead academic sponsor for the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) and recently won the society’s Brillante Award for Excellence for the College’s contributions to fostering Hispanic leadership through graduate management education.

For more information about the Mendoza College of Business Nonprofit Executive Program, contact Marc Hardy at (574) 631-1087 or mhardy@nd.edu.